


A Ring of Cream

by plumtrees



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Baking, Fluff, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-08 19:47:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4317528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plumtrees/pseuds/plumtrees
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hanamaki has never been one for grand romantic gestures, has never been one for romantic gestures at all, but Matsukawa's a stubborn guy.</p><p>Who can't bake for shit.</p><p>Iwaizumi and Oikawa (mostly Iwaizumi, really) to the rescue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Ring of Cream

**Author's Note:**

> clearly I am obsessed with couples who have pastries/sweets/baking as a theme.
> 
> Indulgent fluff is good for the soul, I hear.

Matsukawa sighs heavily and rubs his temples. Sitting on the armchairs on adjacent sides of the sofa he's currently occupying are Oikawa and Iwaizumi, one laughing and the other thoughtfully silent, eyes darting from him to the floor.

"You think it's a stupid idea."

Oikawa's hands fall from his mouth and waves around wildly. "No, no! I think it's a cute idea!"

"You were laughing just now."

"Because I never imagined this day would come." Oikawa insists, brushing tears from his eyes. "I knew you'd inherit my romantic spirit. I'm so proud of you, Mattsun."

Matsukawa dodges Oikawa's attempt to ruffle his hair, facing the resultant pout with an unimpressed face. "What are you, my parent?"

"I'm your captain. Close enough!" He argues and dives in for a second try, which Matsukawa avoids by vaulting over Oikawa and Iwaizumi's sofa and ducking behind it.

" _Was_ my captain." He corrects and whacks Oikawa with the pillow he took with him when his head pokes from the other side of the backrest.

Oikawa whines and makes a sound like he's about to cry. He jumps to the other armchair, onto Iwaizumi's lap and buries his face in his chest as Matsukawa reclaims his seat. "What happened to 'you'll always be my captain', or were those just empty words?" he wails.

"Oikawa, shut up." Iwaizumi says (and Matsukawa thinks it really doesn't sound so convincing considering he's petting Oikawa's head, but that's just him) and points a finger at Matsukawa.

"You sure about this?" is all he says, but those words carry all the weight of the consequences of what he's about to do.

Even with the torrent of thoughts and scenarios running through his head, Matsukawa meets Iwaizumi's gaze levelly and nods. There isn't anything that Iwaizumi could ask that he hadn't already thought through at least _twice_ in the weeks he spent preparing for this.

Iwaizumi stares at him intently, and even Oikawa's gone silent, looking pensive.

"Fine." Iwaizumi finally answers and whisks his car keys from the coffee table. "Let's go."

"Wait, Iwa-chan, go where?!" Oikawa asks, just before he's unceremoniously pushed off of Iwaizumi's lap.

"Supermarket. We're gonna need a lot of eggs."

-

"No, no! You're supposed to add the eggs one at a time!"

Matsukawa raises his hands in surrender and backs away when Iwaizumi charges for the bowl, taking the wooden spoon from his hand and stirring with more finesse. He holds the spoon at an angle, contrast to how Matsukawa held it perpendicular to the bowl and looked much like a witch stirring a cauldron.

"Iwa-chan," Oikawa chides from his spot on the kitchen island, "the whole point of this was to teach Mattsun how to make cream puffs. What's he gonna learn if you keep doing everything for him?"

Iwaizumi glares at Oikawa but doesn't argue. Wordlessly, he hands the spoon back to Matsukawa and angles his arm properly with a firm grip.

"Add one egg, then stir until it comes back together." Iwaizumi instructs, placing his hands on his hips to keep them occupied. "It really will look all broken up at first but just keep stirring."

Matsukawa nods and continues stirring, serenaded by Oikawa singing _Just keep stirring, just keep stirring_ (immediately silenced when Iwaizumi threw a potholder at him). True to Iwaizumi's word, the batter goes smooth again and Iwaizumi nods in approval before leaving to check the oven.

-

Matsukawa sighs and stretches out his aching arm (he's pretty convinced baking is Iwaizumi's secret workout regimen) after Iwaizumi excuses himself to pick up a call from work. He picks up his phone, glancing at the stopwatch for the fifth time in two minutes.

"Geez, Mattsun, calm down." Oikawa comments, changing the channel to a rerun of last night's TV drama. "It'll all work out. Trust me."

Unconsciously, he clenches a hand around the cushion he has pressed to his chest, uncharacteristically hesitant. "You really think so?"

"Has Oikawa-san ever been wrong?"

The scoff comes automatically, and he rolls his eyes at Oikawa's offended expression. "Do I really have to answer that?"

Crocodile tears spring up in Oikawa's eyes an he throws a pillow which Matsukawa dodges by lifting his head from the sofa. "Rude! Of all the things you could inherit from Iwa-chan, why'd it have to be his mean streak?"

"Don't forget the killer sex appeal." he deadpans, lying back down. "Pretty sure I didn't get that from _you_."

Now it's Oikawa who scoffs. "What sex appeal? You only ever had one boyfriend in your life."

Matsukawa pauses in twining his fingers around a loose thread on the pillow. "Is that a bad thing?"

Oikawa looks at him, then smiles. "It's not." He reaches out and pats Matsukawa on the head softly, and this one he allows. "I'm really happy for you, you know. Not many people find true love on the first try."

He huffs a laugh, smiling at the seemingly distant whirlwind of events that eventually led to what he and Hanamaki are right now. He looks up at Oikawa. "You say that like you're not one of the lucky ones."

Oikawa's face is oddly somber. "Not many people are smart enough to realize that their true love's been there from the beginning." he answers. He's looking at the room where Iwaizumi's disappeared to with a softness in his eyes he's only ever reserved for him. Matsukawa blinks and averts his eyes, stretching out on the sofa until his head is bumping against Oikawa's thigh.

"Well it takes two to tango so you weren't the only one who was stupid." he says, and Oikawa looks down at him, surprised.

Slowly, his face breaks out into a genuine smile. "I'm not sure if Mattsun's being nice or mean," he says, idly playing with Matsukawa's hair. "but thanks anyway."

Silence reigns for a while, and Matsukawa allows himself to be distracted by the show Oikawa is watching. Several minutes in and he's bored as fuck. The acting is stiff, the science is bullshit, and the instances he's seen the boom mic peek out from the edge of the frame is already up to the double-digits. He nudges Oikawa's thigh.

"Change the channel."

Oikawa doesn't even look away from the TV. "Why?"

"This show sucks."

Oikawa gasps dramatically and looks down at him like he'd said he'd been sleeping with Iwaizumi behind his back. "How dare you?! It's very compelling!"

Matsukawa rolls his eyes and Oikawa hits him with a pillow.

"Geez, what is with you and throwing pillows?" Matsukawa complains but he's smiling too, pelting Oikawa with the cushion he's resting his head on.

Oikawa catches it and prepares to throw it in retaliation but a shrill sound cuts off their pillow fight and they both jump up in alarm.

"What's that sound?" he asks, but Oikawa's already running for the kitchen. 

"Our fire alarm!"

Matukawa's eyes go wide and he looks down at the frozen _2:34_ phone's stopwatch app.

"Shit."

-

"Told you it was a good idea to grab two trays." Iwaizumi comments as he upends the baking sheet over the trash can to dispose of the black lumps of dough. Oikawa laughs nervously as he and Matsukawa lay out enough ingredients to make a second batch.

-

"He has somehow managed to screw up two batches." Iwaizumi rubs his thumb and forefinger against his eyes and sighs heavily.

Matsukawa doesn't respond, too busy being slumped over, completely dejected on Oikawa's lap. Oikawa picks up a sad, deflated cream puff—Matsukawa really didn't think three minutes would make such a difference—and dips it into a bowl of pastry cream they had made while said failures were baking in the oven.

"So? Who actually gets it right on their first try?" Oikawa placates. Iwaizumi raises an eyebrow at him and Oikawa offers Matsukawa a pitying side-glance. "Or second try."

Iwaizumi's eyebrow hitches up higher. "I did."

"Well sorry not everyone is a kitchen god like you Iwa-chan." Oikawa huffs and waves the cream puff in Matsukawa's face. "There, there, Mattsun."

Matsukawa opens his mouth and lets Oikawa feed him.

 _Taste-wise, it's fine, at least._ he thinks, and reaches over to eat another one.

-

Finally, after twelve perfectly made cream puffs have been filled with cream and dusted with powdered sugar, Matsukawa allows himself to breathe a deep sigh of relief. Iwaizumi smiles and reaches over to pat him on the back.

"Just one last thing, right?" he says and Matsukawa suddenly freezes. Iwaizumi glares and digs his fingers into his side, getting an undignified yelp in return.

"I didn't spend an entire afternoon teaching you just for you to chicken out now." is the only explanation given and Matsukawa nods stiffly, taking several deep breaths. Slowly, he reaches into his pocket and his fingers close around the familiar shape that's been there for weeks. He's fondled it so much, rolled it between his fingers and squeezed it in his palm that he thinks he's got the shape memorized by now. He takes it out and the sight of it is enough to send his heart racing again. Beside him, he hears Oikawa gasp softly as he carefully sets it into place.

He breathes deeply as he steps back, admiring the display. He looks up to see Oikawa and Iwaizumi smiling, eyes shining eagerly. They meet his gaze and nod in approval, and he double-takes when he notices that _both_ of them had tears in their eyes.

He gives them both a grateful smile and looks back at the box. For the first time, the emotion that bubbles in his stomach is more glee than anxiety.

Perfect.

-

Matsukawa comes home a little later than expected, and he heads to the kitchen to see Hanamaki washing dishes, the lone dinner set up for Matsukawa occupying one side of the table. The sight is something he's seen numerous times before, but it still makes his heart swell. He walks over and lands an apology kiss to Hanamaki's nape and the other shuts off the tap, turning to face him with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sorry?" he tries, with his best sheepish expression, and Hanamaki's stern face cracks slightly. Matsukawa coaxes a full smile out of him with a couple more kisses.

Without warning, Hanamaki suddenly grabs him by the collar and flips their positions, the movement causing the plastic bag in Matsukawa's hand to rustle. It catches Hanamaki's attention and he gives the bag a curious look. 

Matsukawa doesn't say anything, instead, places the box of cream puffs on the counter, lifting the lid to show Hanamaki the contents. He steps back and looks up at him, confused.

"What's this?"

Matsukawa blinks and looks down at the box he'd set on the counter to make sure that it is, indeed, full of cream puffs.

"Pretty sure it's cream puffs but I could be wrong." he hazards, and Hanamaki kicks his leg.

"Jerk." Hanamaki grumbles while he picks up the upper leftmost cream puff. "I meant, what's the occasion?"

He pops it in his mouth, chewing while eyeing him for an explanation. Matsukawa feels the sweat gathering in his palms, but before he can even open his mouth, Hanamaki lets our a sound that could only be described as a _squeal_. He jumps when Hanamaki grabs him by the front of his shirt and pulls him down to his line of sight.

"How'd you bribe Iwaizumi into teaching you?"

"I...uh...what?"

"These taste exactly like the ones Iwaizumi makes me every year for my birthday! I keep asking but he refuses to share the recipe with me! How'd you get him to tell you?" Hanamaki says, shaking him and practically vibrating with excitement. "And is a blowjob enough for you to share the recipe with me?"

"I didn't really have to bribe him!" Matsukawa hurriedly, and quickly, before Hanamaki can say anything more that would distract him from his main purpose (that blowjob offer came a little too close), he takes Hanamaki's hands and gently pries them off his shirt. "He agreed because he knew I was going to do this."

With too-shaky hands he picks up the cream puff at the lower right corner. Hanamaki begins a protest but Matsukawa immediately goes down on one knee and Hanamaki is left with his mouth half-open, staring at him with wide, confused eyes.

Matsukawa has a long speech prepared, one he'd spent weeks on, full of sentiment and nostalgia and how he's never been more sure of anything in his _life_ , but all that seems irrelevant now, with realization dawning in Hanamaki's eyes as his hands shakily lift up the upper shell of the pastry to reveal the ring sitting daintily on a mound of cream.

"Takahiro," he starts, fighting to steady his voice. "will you marry me?"

The ring is simple (the way Hanamaki said he wanted it to be, in a far-off conversation years ago, when the topic had first come up), a teardrop rose quartz framed with cubic zirconia, set in a silver band. Hanamaki's eyes dart from it to his face, as if trying to figure out if he's seeing things right, then his bottom lip starts to tremble and his hands clench into fists at his sides.

"What would you have done if I'd eaten that cream puff?" he whispers. His tone is light and joking but his voice is shaking, lips scrunched up in an odd mix of a grimace and a smile, eyes glossed over with tears.

"You always start with the one on the upper left corner." he answers automatically. Matsukawa never really realized how creepy that sounded until he actually said it, and he blushes scarlet.

The corner of Hanamaki's lips twitches upwards and he ducks his head. Usually it works in hiding his expression from Matsukawa but now he's kneeling so he can see how Hanamaki's face just crumples.

"Oh my god," Hanamaki wheezes, and his hands quickly fly up to cover his face. Matsukawa balks. Oikawa had warned him to expect tears but since he's proposing to _Hanamaki_ he never really thought it would happen, but now that it is, he's regretting not considering it as a possibility. He's hurriedly digging his pockets for a handkerchief but then he hears laughter and he looks up at Hanamaki who's covering his whole face with his hand, arm around his middle and shoulders shaking.

"You actually proposed to me," he gets out, between laughs, "using a _cream puff._ "

Matsukawa doesn't know what to say to that. Doesn't know what to do, really. Hanamaki's face is flushed and he's still doubled over laughing and, worse, he has yet to give him an answer (but he thinks that the fact that he 's still here and not running out the door is a good sign).

"Yes," Hanamaki says, eyes watering but shining with unadulterated happiness, and it's Matsukawa's turn to stare with his mouth hanging open as Hanamaki wipes his face with his sleeve. "Yes, you idiot."

It takes a few precious seconds before it dawns on him that Hanamaki said _yes_. Yes to marrying him. His face practically splits into a grin that makes his jaw ache, and Hanamaki mirrors his expression, lifting his hand for Matsukawa to take. He fumbles with taking the ring, wiping the cream off with his shirt (" _You're_ doing the laundry this month." Hanamaki scolds and Matsukawa just nods, too giddy to care) and placing the cream puff on the counter before finally taking Hanamaki's hand and sliding the ring into place.

Hanamaki raises his hand to his face, appreciating the ring for the first time, smiling when the light gleams off the surface of the pale pink stone. Matsukawa stands on wobbly legs and Hanamaki knocks him back against the counter, kissing the breath right out of his lungs. His hands automatically come up around Hanamaki's waist and rest on his lower back.

Hanamaki pulls away just slightly and giggles against his lips. "You better not say something cheesy like you got me this ring because it reminded you of my eyes or some shit."

"Your hair actually." he brings his hand up to slide his fingers into the pale pink of his hair, thumb brushing the slightly ticklish skin behind his ear.

Hanamaki smiles and reaches up to wrap his arms around his neck, pulling him down to press their foreheads together. "Now that we're gonna get married and that I know you can make awesome cream puffs, you're gonna be making it for me for as long as we both shall live, right?"

Matsukawa looks back at the chaos of Iwaizumi and Oikawa's kitchen when he left and winces. "As long as I'm spared from dishwashing duties then sure."

Hanamaki laughs, and Matsukawa thinks _this is it_. He'll grow old hearing that voice, that laugh, wake up everyday and see that face as it breaks out into a lifetime's worth of emotions, and his next thought is _I can't wait_.

"I'll make sure to include it in the wedding vows." Hanamaki says, and leans in to kiss him again.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry for the vagueness for some parts. I wanted the reveal to be as much of a surprise as possible (if you figured out what was up before Matsukawa did the unveiling then I failed orz)
> 
> I foresee angst and smut in my near future *stares at drafts folder*


End file.
